Well-known Yorkshire painter Ashley Jackson has visited Upper Wharfedale to recreate a landscape painted by a famous English artist.

But Mr Jackson needed the help of a local resident to track down the viewpoint used by JMW Turner.

Turner, one of Britain’s greatest landscape artists, came to Kilnsey to paint its towering crag in 1816.

It was one of a number of Yorkshire landmarks painted by him on his tour of Yorkshire.

Turner had been commissioned to produce an oil painting of the crag and he made a special journey on horseback to capture it.

His notebooks contain a detailed sketch depicting the villages of Conistone-with-Kilnsey, Kilnsey Crag and Buckden Pike.

Turner’s finished painting of the crag has never been found, although he did create a watercolour of the scene, which is now in the Tate collection.

Mr Jackson, currently making a new television series about the artist, said: “Turner chose an unusual vantage point to paint Kilnsey Crag. Instead of setting up his easel in Kilnsey he crossed the river and went downstream of Conistone. I needed someone with local knowledge to help find the exact spot.”

He turned to Conistone-born Jamie Roberts, whose family have owned the Kilnsey Estate – including Kilnsey Park – since 1911.

Mr Roberts said: “I spent a lot of my childhood playing along the banks of the River Wharfe but I never knew I’d shared them with a great artist.”

Using Turner’s drawing as a guide, Mr Roberts led Mr Jackson to a small rise overlooking a bend in the river.

“It’s amazing how little the scene has changed in the past 200 years – even a stile that Turner mentions is still there,” said Mr Roberts. “The main surprise was the increase in trees since Turner’s time. A large horse chestnut now blocks the exact viewpoint used by him.”

Mr Jackson, who returned the next day and painted the scene, shares Turner’s passion for the area.

He said: “Turner drew inspiration from the Yorkshire Dales, in the same way that I have drawn inspiration from the Yorkshire landscape.

“I’ve been coming here to paint since 1968 and it never ceases to amaze me. There’s no place quite like it anywhere else in the world. I feel privileged to be following in Turner’s footsteps.”

Mr Jackson’s new TV series on Following in Turner’s Footsteps is expected to be broadcast on ITV later this year.